Los Angeles LGBT Center Gala 2026 Sells Out, Raises $1.25 Million for LGBTQ+ Communities at “The Place We Call Home” Celebration
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The annual gala honored Academy Award winner Marcia Gay Harden and longtime community activist LuAnn Boylan while raising critical funds to support LGBTQ+ people across Los Angeles
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Presented by Gilead Sciences
Photos courtesy of the Los Angeles LGBT Center
LOS ANGELES, May 18, 2026—The Los Angeles LGBT Center welcomed hundreds of community leaders, advocates, supporters, and special guests to its sold-out 2026 Center Gala on Saturday evening at the Anita May Rosenstein Campus in Hollywood, raising $1.25 million to support the Center’s life-saving programs and services for LGBTQ+ people across Los Angeles.
Held under this year’s banner, “The Place We Call Home,” the evening celebrated the power of chosen family, community, and belonging at a time when LGBTQ+ rights continue to face growing attacks nationwide. Guests gathered for an evening of reflection, storytelling, and celebration that highlighted the Center’s enduring role as both a provider of critical services and a cultural home for LGBTQ+ people across Los Angeles.
Hosted by Bianca Del Rio, winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 6 and World of Wonder’s The Pit Stop, the evening was equal parts humor and heartfelt reflection while bringing together generations of LGBTQ+ community members, advocates, artists, and allies.
The night’s highest honor, the Vanguard Award, was presented to Academy and Tony Award-winning actor and advocate Marcia Gay Harden in recognition of her longstanding support for LGBTQ+ people and outspoken advocacy as the mother of three queer children. The award was presented by actor Harry Ford, who starred alongside Harden in Code Black on CBS.
The gala also honored longtime Los Angeles LGBT Center board member LuAnn Boylan with the Rand Schrader Award in recognition of nearly 35 years of leadership and service to the Center and broader LGBTQ+ community. The award was presented by trailblazing tennis icons Billie Jean King and her wife Ilana Kloss.
During the evening’s cocktail reception, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass addressed guests, presenting CEO Joe Hollendoner with a commemoration from the City of Los Angeles in honor of the life-saving services the Center provides each day.
Throughout the evening, honorees, presenters, and special guests spoke to the importance of visibility, advocacy, and building a future where queer and trans people can live openly and authentically as themselves:
“These assaults on our community are not just defining moments for the Center or our movement. They are defining moments for each of us. As I see it, we have two paths forward: Either we choose to cede our hard-won progress in our fight for liberation, joy, and community. Or… We choose courage. We choose integrity. We choose to do what’s right. The Los Angeles LGBT Center will always choose to lead with our values, and I know we can count on you to do the same.”
–Joe Hollendoner, CEO of the Los Angeles LGBT Center
“I have always been an admirer of the Center, especially when I visited the senior housing… This is the living room of the movement, and the movement always wins. I know that we will be able to weather this storm and come out much, much stronger, much more united on the other side.”
–Mayor Karen Bass
“Marcia Gay is a proud daughter, a devoted sister and aunt, and a ferocious advocate of a mother.”
–Harry Ford, presenter of the Vanguard Award
“Instead of telling young people across the country that who they are is somehow wrong or undeserving of dignity, join us in pointing out that what other people see as faults, or cracks, is simply where the light gets in. That is why the work of the Los Angeles LGBT Center matters so deeply. Because it creates something every person deserves: A place where people can exhale, feel safe, and know they don’t have to face the world alone. That kind of love and support saves lives.”
–Marcia Gay Harden, Vanguard Award recipient
“The Los Angeles LGBT Center was founded out of necessity, but it has always offered a place to sleep, something to eat, and a community of people who understood that we have to show up for one another because sometimes no one else will. The Center’s founders dreamed of something even bigger: a home in the middle of this great, sprawling city—a place where our chosen family could be cared for and seen.”
–Billie Jean King and Ilana Kloss, presenters of the Rand Schrader Award
“All of the Center’s services are available for free or at low cost, which means this place is a haven and a literal home for those who have nowhere else to go.”
–Bianca Del Rio, host of Center Gala 2026
From powerful acceptance speeches to moments of joy and celebration, the evening reflected the breadth of voices and leadership that continue to shape what “home” looks like for LGBTQ+ people across Los Angeles and beyond.
Proceeds from the Center Gala directly support the Center’s comprehensive programs and services, including healthcare, housing, advocacy, cultural programming, and critical resources for transgender and gender-diverse individuals across Los Angeles.
For additional information about the Los Angeles LGBT Center and upcoming events, visit lalgbtcenter.org or follow @lalgbtcenter on social media.
Center Gala 2026 was made possible by Presenting Sponsor Gilead Sciences.
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About the Los Angeles LGBT Center
Since 1969, the Los Angeles LGBT Center has cared for, championed, and celebrated LGBTQ+ individuals and families in Los Angeles and beyond. Today, the Center’s nearly 800 employees provide services for more LGBTQ+ people than any other organization in the world, offering programs, services, and global advocacy that span four broad categories: Health, Social Services and Housing, Culture and Education, Leadership and Advocacy. We are an unstoppable force in the fight against bigotry and the struggle to build a better world; a world in which LGBTQ+ people thrive as healthy, equal, and complete members of society. Learn more at lalgbtcenter.org.